Dive Brief:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Norridge, IL, roofing contractor for exposing workers to dangerous fall hazards at two different work sites within a month. OSHA issued Ziggy’s Roofing one willful, one serious and three repeated safety violation citations and fined the company $115,500.  
• OSHA said an inspector saw four Ziggy’s Roofing employees working without fall protection systems, like guardrails, safety nets or personal fall prevention devices, at a site in Chicago. OSHA said the roofing workers were at risk of falls of more than 14 feet, and employees on the ground were working without head protection and using nail guns without eye protection.
• According to OSHA, less than one month later, inspectors again observed two Ziggy’s employees working under similar fall hazard conditions on a two-story roof at a residential site in Schaumburg, IL. In total, OSHA said it has inspected Ziggy’s four times since 2003 for exposing workers to fall hazards at construction sites around the Chicago area.

Dive Insight:

"Ziggy's Roofing continues to ignore OSHA standards and is failing to protect its employees on the job," said Angeline Loftus, OSHA's area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines.

OSHA has a few fall prevention initiatives underway, including its Stop Falls online information center and its ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign. Both provide guides and other tools to help employers reduce fall risks.

The pursuit of fall protection violators continues to be a priority for OSHA. The agency said that, as construction activity increases, falls are still the leading cause of construction worker death.

The agency recently cited a Massachusetts roofing contractor for 16 safety violations and fined the company $188,000 for not providing adequate fall protection and exposing its workers to deadly fall hazards.

Last month, the agency also cited a New Jersey contractor for not providing adequate fall protection and exposing workers to safety hazards like improper use of a portable ladder and a lack of ladder safety training. OSHA fined the company $54,000 and added it to the Severe Violator Program for committing willful and repeated violations.

In August of this year, violators could see their fines increase 80% or more when OSHA raises its fine levels to fall into line with the Consumer Price Index — the first increase since 1990.